


The Games We Play

by callmeonetrack



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Drunken Shenanigans, F/M, First Kiss, Infidelity, pre-mini
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 14:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9330284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmeonetrack/pseuds/callmeonetrack
Summary: A little game of truth-or-dare gets out of hand.





	

"You are not at all what I expected, Lee Adama."

Kara grinned, flinging her hand out to point at him, wine glass precariously perched between her fingers. A drop of the ruby liquid sloshed over the tilted side and splashed on her knuckle. Lee resisted the strong urge to lean over and lick it away. He had to stop this. Ever since he walked in that doorway four hours ago, he’d been having the most inappropriate thoughts imaginable about his brother’s girl. _What the hell was wrong with him?_

Lee raised an eyebrow and put down his triad cards. “I’m afraid to ask, but what’d you expect?”

“Well, the way Zak talks about you, you’d think the sun shone out of your...ah, cockpit.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth. “And yet here you are, drunk as a skunk, smoking my last cigar,” she shook her head disapprovingly, “and, apparently, despite the callsign, not at all the golden boy I’ve been led to believe.”

Lee snorted. Zak had likely said something along the lines of Lee having a stick shoved up his ass, but he appreciated her discretion. “Well it’s a good thing he’s not here to see what a bad example I’m setting, isn’t it?” An awkward silence fell as Kara quickly looked down at her cards. Lee thought he saw a slight blush rising in her cheeks but wasn’t sure. 

He hoped Zak would be back soon. A futile hope considering emergency survival training missions seldom lasted less than 24 hours. Lee wondered why he hadn’t followed Zak out the door. It had seemed rude at the time, to run out on the dinner Kara had prepared. He refused to admit, even to himself, that there was anything more to his desire to stay behind.

Kara tossed a few cubits in the pile and lowered her cards, looking at him with a predatory gaze. “So, tell me more about this girlfriend stealing incident.” She grinned again, and hooted with laughter at Lee’s surprised expression. 

“For the record,” Lee said, lifting the cigar from the ashtray at his elbow and puffing on it. “He was thirteen and had a crush on our next-door neighbor. She was my age, seventeen, and completely…” Lee put the cigar down and dropped a cubit in the pile, “out of his league.” He laid his cards face down on the table. “I call.”

“Not so fast there. I want to hear the end of the story.” 

“Nothing to tell really. We went to one school dance together and ever since Zak’s been busting my chops about me _‘stealing’_ her away.” 

Kara tipped her glass of wine upwards and Lee eyed the smooth line of her throat as she drank, his glance dipping down further and lingering on the plunging neckline of her top before he belatedly dragged it up to her face again.Kara was watching him, eyebrow raised. _Busted_. 

“Oh, very subtle, flyboy. No wonder she couldn’t resist your charms.”

It was Lee’s turn to blush and he fixed his eyes on the table. Taking pity on him, Kara laid her cards down. “Full Colors!” Lee groaned and flipped his hand over. “Four on a run. I don’t know how you do it.” He lifted the cigar and took another puff. 

“Pure skill, that’s how I do it.” Kara crowed and leaned forward, sweeping the cubits into her stash. Lee purposefully averted his eyes from her straining cleavage this time, and was pretty sure he heard her laugh louder. 

“Winner takes the spoils!” Kara’s hand darted towards him, plucking the cigar out of his mouth. She popped it between her lips, puffing away and fiddling with the cards, sweeping them into a messy stack. Lee watched her exhale, blowing a small smoke ring, and realized he was staring. He quickly floundered for something to say. 

"Well you deserve it. Six hands in a row.” He shook his head in admiration. “And I really thought I had you that last hand.”

“Clearly, you have not been briefed on my incredible triad prowess,” she cackled, popping the cigar back in her mouth for a long drag, then sending a perfect smoke ring his way. “And you, Lee Adama, will never have me.”

Lee blinked and his mouth fell open. Kara's body froze. That hadn’t come out right at all. _Oh gods._ She cleared her throat and spoke quickly. “But since you’re such a terrible liar and obviously crap at playing cards…and women,” she said, giggling, “I suppose I can take pity on you and give this back.” 

She pulled the cigar from her lips and reached over and pushed it into Lee’s open mouth. His eyes popped but he clamped down on it and Kara’s fingers brushed over his lips as she pulled away. Her hand tingled like she’d gotten a little electric shock and the silence grew more awkward.

Lee removed the cigar, placing it carefully in the ashtray and cleared his throat. “Well, you’ve pretty much cleared me out. So,” he pushed back his chair and stood. “I should probably hit the road.” But as he stepped away from the table, his legs had other ideas, and he wobbled on his feet. 

“Whoa!” Kara jumped up and slipped an arm around his waist to hold him up. “You’re not hitting anything but the couch. Come on, lightweight.” They staggered into the living room and Lee marveled at how drunk he felt. He wondered how much of it was the bottle of wine and how much of it was Kara, so warm against his side, smelling insanely good. The truth of it was he’d been intoxicated since he’d walked in the door. 

They reached the end of the sofa and Lee plopped down heavily, but his arm was around Kara’s waist and he pulled her along with him. Her butt hit the arm of the couch and Kara squeaked as she tumbled down sideways into his lap. They both froze and looked at each other, eyes wide. Instinctively, almost unconsciously, Lee tightened his grasp on her and leaned forward ever so slightly. He was suddenly transfixed by her eyes, which seemed to shift colors as he grew closer.

Kara exhaled a shaky breath, breaking the stare and dropping her head suddenly. Lee followed her gaze down to where his right hand was absentmindedly stroking her thigh. He snatched his hand back and Kara scrambled to her feet, looking anywhere but him. She crossed the room and sat in an armchair, a hand going up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Um, yeah, I don’t think you’re going anywhere tonight. You can sleep here. On the couch.” Mentally she kicked herself. _Why had she added that?_ As if he was going to sleep anywhere else! Crap. 

“Um, maybe we should watch some television.” She grabbed the remote and aimed it at the small set in the corner. Nothing happened. She looked at Lee and shrugged, mildly embarrassed. “Right, no TV. Zak forgot to pay the cable bill.” Kara drummed her hand on the arm of her chair, thinking. They’d already discussed Zak, Academy life, and the flying adventures of Starbuck and Apollo ad nauseum. “Uh, we could play a game?”

“A board game?” Lee leaned back against the couch, feeling slightly drowsy. 

Kara cocked her head at him and gave him a disbelieving face. “What are you, twelve?” She got up from the chair and went into the dining room, returning a moment later with the half-full bottle of wine. Lee looked at her dubiously. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

Kara shrugged. “You’re already drunk so we might as well finish it.” She walked around to the other end of the couch and plunked down, setting the bottle on the coffee table between them. She grinned, “So what should we play?”

Lee thought for a moment. “I don’t know. All the games I know involve bouncing coins into cups and I don’t think I have the manual dexterity for that at this point.” 

Kara laughed. “Yet the fact that you can actually still come up with _‘manual dexterity’_ proves you are not nearly drunk enough.” 

Lee laughed too. “Well you cleaned me out already so I don’t have any cubits left either.”

She scratched her head. “So, no cubits. Well, there’s always truth or dare.”

Lee raised an eyebrow. “Now who’s twelve?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Come on! It’ll be fun. And you’re my guest so you have to entertain me.”

Lee laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think that’s usually the way it works, Kara.”

She shrugged and stuck out her tongue at him. “Spoilsport. You start.” Kara turned toward him pulling her legs up on the couch and propping her arms on her knees. She had taken her heels off earlier and now her bare toes were barely brushing his thigh. Lee tried to concentrate. 

“Ok…uh. Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” 

Lee looked at her. “Dare? Right off the bat? You’re not supposed to ask for a dare on the first question.”

Kara snorted. “Why not?”

“You’re just… not supposed to. You’re supposed to start with truth, so you can ease into it.” 

“Dare.”

Lee sighed. “Fine. I dare you to do 200 one-handed pushups.”

Kara looked at him incredulously. 

“Ok, 100.”

She looked at him again and shook her head.She climbed off the couch and dropped to the floor, rapidly completing…100, 200, 300 pushups.She plopped back on the couch and smirked, burrowing her feet under his thigh fully this time. “Don’t make it so easy next time.” She took a swig from the bottle of wine.

“Your turn, Lee. Truth or dare.”

“Truth.”

“Of course.” Kara laughed and they were off. Round after round, Lee would dare Kara each turn to do something silly like balance a glass on her head or eat some disgusting food combination from the fridge, and in return she would ask him silly or embarrassing questions most of the time, sometimes throwing in a serious one about growing up with Zak or what he wanted from the future.

It was his seventh turn and he picked truth again. Kara groaned. “Ok, can you please ask for a dare next round, because I’m running out of questions here.” She tapped her forehead. “Let’s see. Oh! OK,” she smirked and Lee knew she thought she’d come up with a good one. “So you say you’ve never stolen Zak’s girlfriend,” Kara smiled, “BUT… have you ever wanted to?”

Lee’s heart flipped. _Not till tonight._ He stared her and wondered if he told the truth what would happen. Would it wipe the smile off her pretty face? He should lie. But he really was a shitty liar. He settled for ambiguity. “Yes.”

Kara stilled at his serious tone, tilting her head and eying him curiously. Lee returned her gaze and after a minute she turned away. “Okay, my turn. Dare.”

He frowned at her. “You can’t pick dare every time, you know?” 

“Yes, I can.”

“Fine, I dare you to answer this question truthfully.” He looked so proud Kara almost laughed. “Oh Queen of the Dares, what’s the trickiest stunt you’ve ever pulled?”

Lee expected a tale about a dazzling viper move, but the smile fell from Kara’s face. She picked up a pillow, hugging it to her and fiddling with the fringe. Her voice was softer and he strained forward slightly to hear her. “When I was eight, I dumped a bunch of rubber bugs in my mom’s shoes. She hated bugs.”

Lee waited for her to continue but she said no more. “Wait, that’s it? Your greatest stunt was some rubber bugs?"

Kara smiled, but it was a funny smile, not fully there. And she had a far away expression on her face. “It was a good one…till I got caught.”

“You were eight. What’d you get for punishment? No dinner? A week's grounding?” 

Kara smiled that same elusive way, but her forehead was pinched. “Eight broken fingers.”

Lee sucked in a hard breath. Kara wasn’t looking at him but at the pillow in her lap. Her hand was resting on it and she turned it over, flexing her fingers, that far-off look still in her eyes. Lee wasn’t thinking, but he couldn’t stop himself. He reached out slowly, not wanting to spook her, his fingertips tracing over the slightly crooked bent of her digits just above her knuckles. 

Kara let him for a moment then pulled her hand back. She was focused again, and her cheeks were flushed when she met his eyes. She bit her lip and shook her head quickly, muttering almost to herself. “I can’t believe I told you that.” She looked away and took another big swig from the wine bottle, keeping her eyes averted even when she’d finished. “Your turn.

“OK. Dare.” 

That spun her gaze around and she raised her eyebrows at him and wiggled them. “ _Dare?_ FINALLY!” Kara grinned wide and Lee felt better. “OK, you must wear one piece of clothing from this apartment.” Lee sighed in relief. That was easy. Zak had plenty of T-shirts that would fit him, he started to rise to go get one when Kara interrupted again. “ _AND_ I get to pick it out.” He sagged back on the couch. _Oh dear_. 

He wasn’t really surprised when Kara trotted out with a rolled up piece of material in hand and dropped it on his lap. A skirt. Great. At least it was a cargo skirt and nothing too girly. Lee rolled his eyes, but stood up and gamely tugged it on over his khakis. 

He looked at Kara, hands out. “Satisfied? Or are you gonna insist on taking a picture?” 

Kara crossed her arms and shot him that “come on” look again. She slowly shook her head no. “Way too easy. Lose the pants.”

“You know, usually women wait till I’ve known them more than 4 hours before they request that.” 

“Hmm. Guess you’ve had some boring first dates then.” Kara laughed and flashed him a bright innocent smile. “Bathroom’s that way. Lose ’em.” She crinkled her nose. “ _Sir.”_

Fine. Lee turned towards the bathroom but caught a glimpse of the decidedly smug look on Kara’s face. _Frak that_. She wanted a show; he’d give her a show. So he shifted where he was, toeing off his boots, his eyes never leaving Kara’s, now rounded with surprise. Lee shoved a hand down the front of the skirt. The noise as he unzipped his pants sounded unbearably loud in the quiet room. 

Kara wrinkled her nose in amusement, her tongue peaking out to wet her lips as she eyed him. He stopped thinking about her tongue ( _that was a path to utter madness—he was sure_ ) and concentrated on the job at hand. This would be a lot easier if the room would stop spinning, he thought. Carefully, Lee used one hand to hold the skirt in place and the other to push his khakis down, wriggling his hips and shimmying till he felt them fall to his knees. He hopped on one leg and kicked them off and they landed in a heap near the sofa.

“Better?”

Kara tilted her head taking a slow once over his heavily muscled thighs (the skirt was a little short he realized now) and calves and down to the floor. She nodded slowly, then her shoulders started to shake with laughter, and she could just about get out the words, “Nice socks.” before she fell onto the couch in hysterics. Lee looked down at his military issue black socks. There was a huge hole over the big toe on the left one. 

He stood there as Kara composed herself. When she finally stopped cackling, she looked at him in surprise. “OK, well played, Adama. You can put your pants back on now.”

He shrugged, feeling cocky. “Hmm I don’t know. It’s kinda nice. Roomy.” He sat down on the sofa facing Kara and she held his gaze for a few seconds, before her eyes faltered, dropping to his lap. Lee looked down. Oh. It was even shorter than he’d thought. He snatched a pillow for cover and felt the tips of his ears turn red. _Whoops_.

Kara laughed again, the full-bodied sound of it sending tingles up his spine, and handed him the bottle. Lee took a swig and placed the bottle back on the table, nearly missing and tipping it onto the floor, before it righted. “So…dare I’m guessing?”

Kara nodded. _Of course_. 

“OK, I dare you… to tell me about your best flying trick. The one you won’t tell anyone because you’re afraid they’ll steal it." 

"That’s not fair. First, that’s a truth not a dare and,” Kara took another swig from the bottle, tipping it up and draining it in a long swallow before pointing a unsteadily swinging finger his way, “and, and… Third, how do I know you won’t steal it?”

Lee just crossed his arms. “You don’t. I double dog dare you.” 

Kara bent over clutching her stomach, giddy laughter barreling out in wheezy waves. “ _Double dog dare you?_ My Gods, you really _are_ twelve.” She straightened up again, wiping her eyes. “F-fine. Fine. Actually. I will do you one better, Lee Adama.” She stood and crossed the apartment and walked up the stairs. Her gait was unsteady and she missed a step or two. 

“Where the frak are you going?” Lee stood up and grabbed his pants. He was feeling increasingly uncomfortable sitting around in a skirt. He pulled them up, and fastened them, the skirt rucked up around his waist. 

“I am going to make this a real dare. I’m gonna SHOW you my best flying maneuver.” She reached the top of the stairs and threw a leg over the banister. 

  
Oh no. His head rose in alarm and his hands, fiddling with the twisted skirt at his waist, stilled. “Kara, I don’t think this is a good—”

Before he could get the words out, Kara hopped up on the banister, throwing her arms out to the sides and kicking both legs up on the rail. 

“Kara, NO! Don’t—” 

But she just leaned back and let go, careening down the wooden rail and flying off the end to crash in a heap against the wall. Lee ran to where she laid face down, silent.

“Oh GODS. Oh my gods. Kara, Kara!” He dropped down on his knees next to her and flipped her over, thinking only too late that you weren’t supposed to move people who had a back or neck injury and cursing himself for potentially hurting her worse. Her eyes were closed and she looked entirely too pale. “Kara, come on. _Kara!_ ” He hovered over her, swearing, his hands cupping her face and Kara opened her eyes. She blinked and squinted at him. Then her eyes and her grin widened simultaneously and she flashed him quite possibly the most dazzling smile he’d ever seen. He felt his heart lurch even as he let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. 

“Did you see that Lee? _I FLEW!!_ ” 

He let out a weak chuckle. This girl was absolutely insane. “I saw it. You sure did.”She winced, and he grew concerned again. “Are you okay? Did you hurt anything?” He drew his hands back from her face, and reached out, gently running his hands over her arms and legs, trying to see if anything was broken. He tried not to enjoy the feel of her soft curves under his palms. He skimmed his hands back up her sides to cup her neck and rotate her head gently. She seemed fine and he laid her head back but kept his hands cradling the back of her neck. 

Kara was frozen beneath him, staring at him with an indescribable expression. Lee realized he was hovering, close enough to her face that he could feel her warm breath exhaling on his cheek. Kara licked her lips again and Lee followed the quick darting tip of her tongue, transfixed. The room was silent, but his ears were filled with a rushing sound. Her voice, when it came out was barely a whisper. “No.” 

“No, you’re not hurt or No, you’re not okay?” His words tripped out slowly, his voice a huskier pitch than before, and he wanted to raise his gaze, look into her eyes, but Lee couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. It was perfect. 

Her bottom lip quivered and Lee inched closer without even realizing it. “I… don’t know.” She said it slowly, her voice breathy and the end of it sounded like a sigh. Her hand raised to his chest and Lee thought for sure she was going to push him away but instead she curled her fingers in his shirt. He was powerless.

Lee closed the final inch and brushed his lips against hers, gently, once, twice, and on the third pass, Kara made a small noise in her throat and her lips parted under his. Lee’s mind went blank. 

He slanted his mouth hard over hers, deepening the kiss and Kara opened for him. His tongue glided over those perfect lips, tracing the seam of her mouth, biting gently and suckling their soft contours. 

The tip of Kara’s tongue tickled over his own and Lee felt as if he’d licked an electric current, his entire mouth buzzed and he thrust hard into her warmth, tangling his tongue with hers until he felt dizzy. Kara’s arms lifted, winding around his neck and pulling him closer. Lee was pressed halfway across her and one of his legs slid over hers, nestling between her thighs. His hands stroked through her silky cap of hair, and his thumbs rubbed her cheeks as he tilted his head, sliding into her from another angle. Time suspended and his entire existence narrowed down to the fine point of Kara Thrace’s mouth.

He was so utterly lost that he didn’t feel Kara’s hands moving, tapping his shoulders, and was shocked when he felt a strong push knock him backwards. “Stop! Lee, we have to stop.” She sounded horrified. She scooted back a few feet away from him, gasping for breath. “ _My gods. Frak me_.” She ran a shaky hand through her hair and then froze, looking up at him even more horrified than before. “That was not an invitation, by the way.”

Lee sat, stunned. What had he done? He’d just put the moves on his brother’s girl. Lords of Kobol, he was so screwed.

“I, Kara, I’m so—I am so sorry.” 

Kara looked at him warily and he thought he saw her flinch for a second, but it could have been a trick of the light. 

“I should never have done that. I just, I think I’m really drunk, and I couldn’t… you looked...” he trailed off, swallowing hard. “Look, I’ll tell Zak—”

“ _WHAT?_ ” Kara’s eyes were practically bugging out of her face. “You can’t tell Zak.”

“But it was my fault. I should never have taken advantage of you that way.”

Kara frowned at him, looking surprisingly angry.

“It was _our_ fault. Well ours and that bottle of rotgut wine. And it was nothing Lee. This was nothing. You can’t tell him.” She sounded so desperate; he didn’t know what to say. It wouldn’t be right not to confess, but it would crush Zak. Lee groaned and scrubbed a hand over his mouth, as if he could take back what he’d done, erase it. He realized through a fog of confusion and guilt and arousal, that he’d just become the girlfriend stealer his brother jokingly accused him of being. Or closer to it anyway than ever before.

Kara got to her feet, and Lee followed suit. She picked up the bottle of wine, not meeting his eyes, and went to the kitchen. Lee trailed behind, watching as she slammed it into the trash can, then kicked it. He didn’t know what to say. 

Kara turned, her face stricken. “Promise me. _Promise me_ you won’t tell him, Lee.” Her face crumpled. “I can’t lose him. He’s the only good thing…” she paused, shutting her eyes. When she opened them again, her face was composed, determined. “I can’t lose him.” She said it like an order and Lee could do nothing but nod. 

She stared at him for a hard minute. Then turned and walked out of the room. He followed, tracing her path through the living room. Without turning, she tossed over her shoulder, “There are blankets in the closet. Good night.” 

Lee stood there still, several minutes after the door to her bedroom—no, to her and Zak’s bedroom, he corrected himself—slammed shut. Frak. He hung his head, wondering how this night had gone so wrong, and realized the frakking skirt was still twisted around his waist like some kind of bizarre cummerbund. Great.

He shucked off the stupid thing, then grabbed a blanket from the hall closet. Unsure what to do with the skirt, and knowing there was no way he was going to leave it out as evidence, he folded it neatly and shoved it in the closet on a high shelf. Kara might not find it for awhile, but that was probably okay with her. The fewer reminders of this little game the better.

Lee flopped down on the couch, weighing his options. He felt like he should apologize again, some more, but Kara was clearly done. He could get up and go home, because he certainly felt stone cold sober now, but even as he weighed the option, exhaustion crawled through his bones, anchoring him to the soft cushions and in minutes, he didn’t think he’d be able to get up from the couch even if his meanest drill sergeant from the academy was bellowing in his face. (Spitting too, as the man had done.) 

Growing drowsier, Lee’s thoughts reverted from academy days back to his present predicament. He still couldn’t believe he’d done it. He was never ever playing truth or dare again and it would be a good long while before he drank Caprican Cabernet again. His traitorous mind replayed the kiss in lurid detail behind his eyelids. 

Kara, so soft, so warm under him. The taste, the feel of her. So damned right. Best frakking kiss of his life. And gods forgive him, but he wanted more. But he wouldn’t betray Zak further. This secret was going to eat away at him; he could already feel it churning in his gut. Lee stewed even as sleep slowly overtook him, leading him on a dark downward spiral to blessed oblivion. His last thought before he drifted off was an ardent hope that maybe, just maybe, he’d be so hung over he wouldn’t remember this in the morning. 

_ Yeah, right _ . 

Golden boy or not, the Gods couldn’t possibly favor him with that much luck. Lee suspected there wasn’t enough alcohol in the entire universe to make him forget Kara Thrace.


End file.
